1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and, more particularly, to a system for providing appropriate mobile services to subscribers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A successful mobile service provider has to be able to accomplish three tasks: 1) acquire new subscribers, 2) retain existing subscribers and 3) make a profit on the service provided. To this end, a mobile service provider typically develops several service plans and sends informational material on these service plans to retailers and subscribers. Many subscribers will purchase a service plan (from a retailer or directly from the service provider) based on a low base monthly rate and generally not based on their actual usage habits (e.g. number of domestic and international long distance calls). Satisfaction with an ill matched service plan usually lasts until the monthly phone bill comes and then the subscriber questions the suitability of the service plan. The level of dissatisfaction increases with each passing month (or bill) and the customer starts looking for a better deal. Unfortunately, this dissatisfaction is rarely expressed directly to the mobile service provider in any form other than a sudden discontinuation of the service.
One of the most pressing problems facing mobile service providers is churning. Churning refers to the situation where subscribers to mobile services discontinue service with one service provider to sign with another source provider or discontinue their service all together. The churn rate for the wireless industry averages 30% annually and has cost the providers more than 3 billion dollars per in the 1997-98 timeframe The generally accepted industry average acquisition cost for acquiring new subscribers is $400 and it takes carriers eight to nine months to make. back those expenses (the average cellular phone bill was $47.70 in 1996). It is clear, that in terms of value per dollar spent, holding on, to existing customers is more efficient than replacing them. Unfortunately, the first indication that mobile service providers get relating to the loss of a valued customer is when the customer calls-to cancel service.
The causes of churn include; the opportunity to pay a lower rate, the chance to get something for free (e.g. free voice mail or a rebate), and service dissatisfaction. While it is important to understand the causes of churning, from a business standpoint, understanding which particular customers are most likely to churn is even more important. For example, subscribers with high monthly usage are much more likely to churn than subscribers who use their phones sparingly. Not coincidentally, it is the high usage customer who is the most valuable to the mobile service providers.
Many mobile service providers have established customer retention programs to retain their most valuable paying (MVP) customers. These programs utilize demographic and billing information (e.g. types of calls made (domestic vs. International), usage, type of service (high end vs. low end) and length of time as a customer) to identify those MVP customers most susceptible to churning. Customer service representatives contact these at risk customers and offer them incentives in exchange for their loyalty (e.g. a contract with a longer term). These programs have met with considerable success but they place considerable overhead onto the mobile service providers.
Access to the subscribers is another problem associated with these customer retention programs. Customers are reluctant to listen to unsolicited calls from customer service representatives and quite often customer contact is lost before the representatives can get their message across. The success of these programs is dependent on the ability to keep the customer""s attention long enough to get the message across.
There is, therefore, a need for a method and system which will allow mobile service providers to gain access to their at risk MVP customers and reduce their susceptibility to churning.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above described problems and needs and has particular application to a system which allows mobile service providers to identify and retain at risk subscribers using two-way interactive communication devices capable of communicating with a server device over a wireless data network.
The present invention provides subscriber loyalty and retention techniques. These techniques allows mobile subscribers who have been identified as being likely candidates for churning, to efficiently, visually and interactively, review an offer for a mobile service plan better meeting the subscriber""s needs. The subscriber can review and execute the offer using the display and interface of a mobile device. These techniques are suitable for mobile devices with small screens and limited keypad communication.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention discloses a method and system for making incentive offers to retain identified subscribers who may fit a profile of a subscriber susceptible to churning by a competing service provider. Susceptible subscribers are identified when their billing records and/or demographic information match a predetermined profile. For example, when a subscriber""s billing records indicates that 100 hours of air time has been used in less than a year then that subscriber could be designated as being at risk for churning. The at risk subscriber is identified and then flagged for preemptive action (e.g. offering the subscriber a better deal before a competitor probably does).
Once a subscriber has been identified as being at risk for churning, a Loyalty Service Server application generates a customized message to the subscriber""s mobile device that offers incentives in exchange for agreeing to a contract with a longer term. This notification would appear as a customer service message from the Service Provider and is placed in the mobile device""s inbox which can be accessed by the subscriber at any time from anywhere. Thereafter, when the customer service message is selected, it executes an underlying Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that takes the subscriber to an on-line customer service application (i.e. a Loyalty Service Server application running on a customer service server). This application provides the subscriber with information relating to the terms and benefits of the service provider""s offer. Additionally, this system provides a means for the customer to complete the application on-line.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the entire offer and acceptance process (for the new subscriber service plan) is conducted on-line with the subscriber using the input interface of a mobile device to interact with the server hosting the offer. Upon completion of the interaction, the subscriber""s service can also be provisioned almost immediately based on the subscriber""s acceptance of the offer for a new subscriber service plan.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the offer for a new subscriber service plan can be electronically sent (e.g. facsimile or email) or mailed to a designated address (i.e., phone number, email address, home address) at the request of the subscriber.